JJ flyover to be closed for 10 nights

If you are going to be travelling to south Mumbai at night, taking the JJ flyover will not be an option for you for 10 nights, starting Sunday.

The 2.5-km long flyover will be closed to enable the laying of speed breakers and dividers on it to make it safer for drivers. The traffic police have allowed the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) to shut the flyover between midnight and 6 am for ten nights starting June 20.

Deputy Commissioner of Police Nandkumar Chowgule said four speed arresters or ‘rumblers’ will be placed on the north and south ends of the flyover to ensure that speed limits can be enforced.

“We are taking several measures including placing of 1.5 inch speed arresters on the flyover. These can be seen from a distance and since they are made of rubber they help control speed,” Chowgule said. He said that the work is likely to be completed in ten days.

“We are also installing a special divider at the dangerous Mandvi Post Office curve on the flyover,” Chowgule said. “Motorists often jump over the divider and crash on the other side. This has resulted in several deaths. A special divider will not just prevent such accidents but also allow motorists to see vehicles coming from the other direction.”

The MSRDC will also repair the fencing at spots where it has been damaged. The traffic police had recently banned two-wheelers from plying on the flyover. In the first month after the ban, not a single accident was reported on the flyover.

The traffic police used 145 cranes on Monday and Tuesday to tow away vehicles that broke down on flyovers.

They have also acquired equipment to cut trees. No traffic policeman will get leave until the end of the monsoon.